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Friday, 18 November 2011

Garden Witch’s Herbal by Ellen Dugan

“Enrich your Craft—and your spirit—by working with the awesome energies of nature. In this follow-up to Garden Witchery, Ellen Dugan takes us further down the path of green magick, revealing the secret splendors of the plant kingdom.

From common herbs and flowers to enchanted shrubs and trees, Dugan digs up the magickal dirt on a wide variety of plant life. Encouraging Witches to think outside the window box, she shares ideas for incorporating your garden's bounty into spellwork, sabbat celebrations, and more. Tips for container gardening ensure that city Witches can get in on the green action, too.

This stimulating guide to green Witchery—featuring botanical illustrations of nearly fifty fascinating specimens—will inspire you to personalize your Craft and fortify your connection to the earth.”

I am a fan of Ellen Dugan; I find her writing interesting, fun and conversational. This book is quite possibly one of the best I have read on Garden Witchery, how to create a garden for magick and enjoyment. It is divided into sections called: Conjuring a Garden with Heart, Green Witchery in the City, Wildflowers and Witchery, Magick of the Hedgerows, The Magick and Folklore of Trees, Gothic Herbs and Forbidden Plants, Herbs and Plants of the Sabbats, Herbs of the Stars and Magicakl Herbalism.

Each chapter delves into the different areas of creating, maintaining and using a magickal garden, my favourite chapter was on the Magick and Folklore of Trees, it inspires a sense of wanting to create that perfect little outdoor sanctuary with the Oak, Ash and Thorn, a sacred circle to invite in the Fae folk. The section on forbidden plants was a fun and interesting read, it takes a look at the historical “Witch’s Plants” such as Hellebore, Black Nightshade, Belladonna and Yew, she doesn’t advocate using these plants by any stretch but it is an insight into the days of old when Witches were thought to use these herbs for baneful magicks.

Perhaps the most helpful part was how to create a container garden and what plants are best used for this. Now I have to admit I have the luxury of living in the country so I have the space but it has inspired me to create some larger pot gardens to place around my yard.

I’m an avid Witchy Gardener, I like to grow things and it seems that quite often I have great success growing things – except for Basil, they keep dying on me. I think they are very fussy herbs, they either like it where you put them or don’t, but I have found that putting them in pots has a greater success.If you can get your hands on a copy, I really do recommend this book. It would be a fabulous addition to any witch’s book collection.